Best of 2024

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I think it's right to mention the Giovanni Maria Da Crema, the Takacs Schubert 15 remake and Victor Nicoara's improved one piano Busoni Fantasia.

I'll check the Hasselhorn Mahler because his Schöne Müllerin was innovative, thoughtful and supple. He's a singer with ideas of his own.  Sturdy confident barytone -- dark.

Ok, I'll check them out! Thank you for the suggestion.

[Daverz]

I think it's right to mention the Giovanni Maria Da Crema,

Some YT links:

Victor Nicoara's improved one piano Busoni Fantasia.

I'll check the Hasselhorn Mahler because his Schöne Müllerin was innovative, thoughtful and supple. He's a singer with ideas of his own.  Sturdy confident barytone -- dark.

The big Klemperer orchestral box was a 2023 release, but I've only recently been able to sample from it.  As unlikely as it seems, I hear a definite sonic improvement even over the circa 2011 remasterings.  So I'll add that to my own 2024 list.

[Irons]

Funny. On a more serious note, I'll point out that 20th-century British music was almost never performed or recorded in the USSR. It seems only Britten appeared occasionally. Perhaps, as an exception, something by Elgar. I remember the single performance of Holst's The Planets at the Odessa Philharmonic in the 80s being quite an event.

Not USSR but a fine recording of obscure British music from the Czech Republic.



I wonder if the popularity of Britten behind the old 'Iron Curtain' due to his music or political outlook?

[AnotherSpin]

Not USSR but a fine recording of obscure British music from the Czech Republic.


I wonder if the popularity of Britten behind the old 'Iron Curtain' due to his music or political outlook?

Britten was popular in the USSR because he was considered a pacifist and an active opponent of war. His work, especially War Requiem, resonated with the "anti-war" rhetoric of Soviet propaganda. The USSR saw Britten as a representative of "progressive" Western culture, supposedly sharing common humanitarian values. Additionally, his popularity was bolstered by his friendship with Shostakovich, Richter, Rostropovich, and Vishnevskaya, his clear and accessible music, his connection to Russian culture through Pushkin and personal visits.

[Number Six]

The Haydn 2032 series is one of my favorite recording projects, and 2024 had two offerings Vols. 15 & 16:

It suddenly occurred to me: Is 2032 when they estimate finishing the project?

[Brian]

Yes indeed!

[AnotherSpin]

It suddenly occurred to me: Is 2032 when they estimate finishing the project?

Yes. 2032 is a year of Haydn 300th anniversary. As part of the Haydn2032 project, all of Haydn's symphonies will be performed and recorded until this year. The project is organized by the Joseph Haydn Foundation in Basel, Switzerland.

[Karl Henning]

Separately: Bet this was written by AI: "The best albums of 2024 challenged orthodoxies, blended and created new genres, and spanned a vast range of musical styles and traditions, while looking forward."

[kyjo]

Some fantastic choices thus far! Here's some of my best discoveries/rediscoveries of the year in the field of orchestral music (not necessarily new or even recent recordings):

Uuno Klami: Symphony No. 1, King Lear Overture (Tampere PO/T. Olilla on Ondine)

Robert Ward: Symphony No. 4, Saxophone Concerto, etc. (North Carolina SO/G. Zimmerman on Albany)

Franz Danzi: Complete Symphonies (Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana/H. Griffiths on CPO)

Cipriani Potter: Symphony in B-flat major, The Tempest, etc. (BBC NOW/H. Griffiths on CPO)

Daniel Sternefeld: Symphony No. 1, Suite from Mater Dolorosa, etc. (Brussels Philharmonic/A. Tamayo on Klara)

Wilhelm Petersen*: Symphony No. 3 (Frankfurt RSO/C. Trinks on Profil)

Hilding Rosenberg: Symphony No. 4 The Revelation of St. John (Gothenburg SO/S. Ehrling et al. on Caprice)

Vakhtang Kakhidze: Symphonic Suite from the ballet Amazons (Tblisi SO/J. Kakhidze on various labels)

Heinrich Sutermeister: Orchestral Works Vol. 1 - specifically the Romeo and Juliet Suite and Divertimento No. 2 (Royal PO/R. Held on Toccata)

Qigang Chen: Er Huang, Enchantements oublies, Un temps disparu (Taiwan Philharmonic/Shao-Chia Lu on Naxos)

Camille Saint-Saëns**: Ballet music from Ascanio plus orchestral excerpts from other operas of his (Malmo SO/J. Markl on Naxos)

Erich Zeisl: Piano Concerto, Pierrot in der Flasche (G. Wallisch/Vienna RSO/J. Wildner on CPO)

Lou Harrison: Piano Concerto, etc. (K. Jarrett/New Japan SO/N. Otomo on New World Records)

Felix Draeseke: Piano Concerto in E-flat major (M. Becker/Rudfunk-SO Berlin/M. Sanderling on Hyperion)

Rudolph Simonsen: Piano Concerto in F minor (O. Marshev/Aalborg SO/M. Aeschbacher on Danacord)

Xavier Montsalvatge and Carlos Surinach: Piano Concertos (A. de Larrocha/Royal PO/R. Fruhbeck de Burgos on Decca)

*not to be confused with Wilhelm Peterson-Berger!
**in retrospect, by far the most well-known composer on this list - and the works of his featured on that disc are anything but well-known!

I'll post chamber, vocal, and other selections soon!

[Franco_Manitobain]

Easy one for me, it was this. 

Also made Hurwitz KOLA (2024 Keep on Listening Awards) for his 10 best recordings of 2024.

[Mapman]

Here are some of my favorite purchases and discoveries of 2024:

Dvořák: Piano Quintet, Op. 81


Tubin: Suite from Kratt


Brahms: Serenade #2


Sibelius: String Quartet, Op. 4


Villa-Lobos: Complete Bachianas Brasileiras